Axel's Past
by Kaeira Arnori
Summary: Axel's early life in the Organization. Involves Axel, and a whole bunch of Organization members
1. Chapter 1

The red-haired boy opened his eyes and found nothing but darkness. There was almost no difference between the world with his eyes opened or closed. He shakily got to his feet and wondered where he was. With that question came more… what was he doing here, how did he get here… who was he?

_Axel_

The name popped into his head but nothing else. _A name. Okay, that's a start._ He thought and examined the world more closely. Once he started looking around, the world came into focus. He blinked a couple times and when he looked again, the world was clear. He was standing in the middle of a street and it was still completely dark except for the bright lights given off by the tall buildings he was surrounded by, and the unfinished orange heart-shaped moon.

Axel turned around slowly, examining his surroundings. There were buildings and road as far as he could see, except… A castle. A giant castle so tall it loomed even over the buildings. It suddenly felt like his entire body was being pulled toward the castle with an invisible force. Axel knew that he had to get to that castle. It was more important than anything else.

Axel started sprinting toward it, and tripped over the black cloak he didn't realize he was wearing. He instinctively tucked his head to his chest and rolled, rising back up to his feet quickly. _Huh…_ He thought, examining the cloak. That was all he had with him. No weapons, no money, just the cloak and whatever clothes he had on underneath. It was still kind of creepy that he didn't know who or where he was, or even what he was wearing.

Axel felt wetness on his head, and looked up to see that it was raining. _Just my luck_ he thought, and when his gaze turned back toward the castle, he realized he was surrounded by these little black shadows. They started gathering closer around him, and Axel knew that they meant him harm. But… how did he get rid of them? How did he fight them?

Axel suddenly felt the cool feel of metal in his hands and he looked down in amazement. Weapons. They were intricately designed, but in the general shape of a circle, with spikes coming off of them. But how did they get there? He knew he hadn't had them a second ago. _Oh well… _For now he praised his luck, glad he had something to fight with.

The shadows started coming toward him, to attack, and suddenly he remembered what they were. _Heartless… Like me._ Axel frowned, wondering what that thought meant, but he didn't have time to pursue it further. One of the heartless jumped him, and Axel hit him with one of his weapons. The heartless disappeared, and a small purplish-pink heart floated up to the sky. Axel's gaze followed it, and he felt a great longing, like he wanted the heart more than anything else in the world. But that was silly. He had a heart already, didn't he?

_No time to think_ The remaining heartless closed in and started attacking, and it was all he could do to continue defending himself. His hands seemed to know what to do on their own, and they used his weapons to attack the heartless with a fury he didn't know he had.

But it wasn't enough… they kept coming. As soon as he defeated one, three more appeared in its place. And as much as his instinctive fighting was protecting him so far… he was grossly outnumbered, and didn't think he was going to last much longer like this.

_I will _not _let them defeat me!_ Axel thought furiously, and a deep red flame the color of his hair surrounded his body. His first thought was to panic, but the flames didn't hurt him; they weren't even hot. They started growing, expanding out from his body, until it was so bright he had to shield his eyes. When he opened them again, the heartless were gone, and a man in a black cloak identical to his own stood before him.

He clapped his hands and his hood fell back, showing his long bluish-silver hair, cross-shaped scar, and cocky smile. Axel frowned at him. What had he done that the man had found so amusing?

The man extended his hand and the arrogant look on his face showed that he expected Axel to take it. Axel didn't like his attitude and only frowned at the man. This seemed to amuse him even more, and his smile broadened.

"You do want to go to the castle, don't you Axel?" Axel froze. How did the man know his name? Did he know him?

"Then come along, now. Xehanort doesn't like to be kept waiting." A bubble of darkness appeared behind the man and he stepped into it, waiting for Axel to follow.

Axel took a look around and decided to take his chances with the strange man. Maybe he could had the answers to his past and Axel could find out who he was. It sure was better than sitting here in the rain fighting heartless. He took a deep breath and followed the man into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

((I realized last Chapter, I said Xehanort instead of Xemnas… Pardon my mistake. I'm using his correct name from now on. Just wanted to avoid any confusion

Oh. And spoiler warning for those people who haven't finished Kingdom Hearts 2 from this point on))

The portal of darkness led him to a room, almost completely white. Axel almost laughed at the contrast it was to the rest of the city. There was another black cloaked man in the room, staring out a gigantic window. Axel wondered if these people had ever heard of colors, or if they just preferred to live in such drab boredom. His hair would stick out like a sore thumb. Oh well. It would liven things up at least.

"That will be all, Saix." A deep, cultured, voice spoke. Obviously the unknown, black-cloaked man. The blue-haired man, which had to be Saix, bowed and stepped backward into his portal of darkness. Axel looked at the empty air, where Saix had just been standing, and shook his head. Maybe it would have been better to try his luck on the dark streets.

The other man turned from the window, pulling the hood away from his face. Long silver hair framed a narrow face. He had dark, golden skin and eyes to match. "I am Xemnas." He introduced, as if that should explain everything. Axel gave him a face that made it clear it didn't. He was getting tired of these little guessing games. How everyone seemed to know who he was, but himself.

Xemnas's lips curled into a smile and he pointed to the unfinished, heart-shaped orange moon that he had been looking at outside the window. "Do you see that?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Axel answered anyway. "Kind of hard not to." He muttered under his breath. Xemnas ignored the comment and continued. "Kingdom Hearts. That's what it is going to be. It is a long time from being finished, but once it is… it will be magnificent."

"Love the art project" Axel interjected, "But I really don't see—"

"Patience, Axel. There will be time for questions later." As they were staring at what Xemnas called "Kingdom Hearts," Axel saw a tiny pink heart rise from the ground and become part of the structure. He again felt that immense longing. He wanted that heart. Wanted it more than anything else. His entire being craved after it, and he knew that without the heart, he was not whole.

Axel came back to himself and blinked, finding himself pressed against the glass of the window. He frowned. He hadn't even been standing that close to the window before he saw the heart. He backed up a few feet, and Xemnas continued his speech.

"You feel the longing for a heart, just as we all do. All of us. Members of Organization XIII. Nobodies. We are Nobodies because we do not have hearts. But… gain a heart, and a Nobody becomes a real person. That is the only difference between us and them." Xemnas gestured toward the sculpture in the sky. "When it is finished, Kingdom Hearts will be able to grant us our deepest desire. Kingdom Hearts will have a heart for all of us."

Axel looked determinedly at Kingdom Hearts for a few seconds before turning back to Xemnas. "How can I help?" He would do _anything_ for it to be finished. To have a heart of his own.

"Join us" Xemnas beckoned.

Axel smiled. "That's it? No problem."

Xemnas smirked as though Axel had gotten himself into much more than he bargained for. "Glad to have you. You will be briefed on your first assignment later. But now… your questions, as promised."

Axel stared for a moment. Of course, how could he forget? He had been so caught up in his desire for a heart… He shook his head, as if dispelling the thought. _Straight down to business… _"Who am I?"

It seemed as though Xemnas was expecting that question. The answer was quick and smooth, as though he had done this a lot. "You are a Nobody, like us. Number VIII in Organization XIII. Axel, as I'm sure you've remembered."

Axel shook his head, frustrated. They _had_ to know who he was. They knew his name, what he was, what he wanted. They had to know the rest! "No. My past. Where did I come from? How did I get here? Why don't I remember anything!"

Xemnas's face twisted into a mischievous smile. He knew the answer, Axel was sure of it. But he wasn't going to tell him. "In time, Axel. In time you will remember who created you. But that is for you to discover."

Axel's mouth dropped open and he glared at his new master. "What!"

Xemnas's expression was no longer pleasant. "Once Kingdom Hearts is complete, you will have no use for your 'past.'" He created a bubble of darkness behind him, and turned to step through.

"Wait!" Axel called after him. "What am I supposed to do now?"

Xemnas walked through the portal and disappeared, and Axel was left glaring at the empty air. 

"Find Sora" His voice echoed in the chamber, until Axel was left alone.


End file.
